GameEx vs RetroHub

GameEx is an arcade and emulator front end for MAME, GameBase, Daphne, PC games and command-line emulators, with HTPC features. The site lists original GameEx, GameEx Arcade Edition and GameEx Evolution. Its feature list describes support for nearly any emulator, with advanced MAME support, and compatibility with arcade controls such as X-Arcade, Slik-Stik, JPAC and IPAC, as well as remotes and gamepads. Media features include video and DVD playback, picture viewing, internet radio, a jukebox, a news reader and a YouTube module. Named integrations include Steam, EA Origin, Uplay, iTunes, Windows Media Player, GameBase, GameEx Arcade and the TMDb API. GameEx Online and GameExtender add networked display, remote control and online game statistics. Its listed free plan costs nothing, but commercial use requires each copy to be registered or purchased. The listing includes Android, Linux, macOS and Windows; the maker describes Linux or Mac use through WINE as experimental, while the multiplatform alpha builds may lack features.

RetroHub is a free frontend for organizing, displaying, and launching a retro-game library on Windows, macOS, and Linux. A first-time setup wizard helps configure it, and users can import games and settings from supported frontends. The app supports more than 80 systems and more than 50 emulators, while allowing users to add settings for others; it does not include emulators. Game metadata and media can be customized, and the built-in ScreenScraper feature can identify games by file hash or filename and fetch related information and images. ScreenScraper applies hourly and daily API quotas, and scraped media for a large library may take more than 1 GB of disk space. Users can change themes, and theme development can shape the interface and add features. Inputs include keyboard, mouse, controller, and touch; keyboard and controller actions can be remapped. The interface adapts to screen size and aspect ratio and includes a screen-reader option. RetroAchievements is an optional integration. Source code is MIT-licensed, while official builds use GPLv3 due to bundled third-party libraries.